Multi-link network coordination

ABSTRACT

Various aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication. In some aspects, a central entity may determine a set of schedulable resources for a plurality of links associated with a plurality of nodes of a multi-link network; and may provide scheduling information to the plurality of nodes to schedule communication on the plurality of links based at least in part on determining the set of schedulable resources. In some aspects, a node of a network may determine an extended slot format indicator for the node based at least in part on a received extended slot format indicator of a parent node of the node and a received null adjust request from a child node of the node; may provide the determined extended slot format indicator to the child node; and may provide the received null adjust request to the parent node. Numerous other aspects are provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS UNDER 35 U.S.C. § 119

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/716,875, filed on Aug. 9, 2018, entitled “MULTI-LINK NETWORKCOORDINATION,” which is hereby expressly incorporated by referenceherein.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

Aspects of the technology described below generally relate to wirelesscommunication, and more particularly to techniques and apparatuses formulti-link network coordination. Some techniques and apparatusesdescribed herein enable and provide wireless communication devices andsystems configured for multi-link or multi-hop scenarios and efficientcommunication therein.

BACKGROUND

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide varioustelecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging,and broadcasts. Typical wireless communication systems may employmultiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication withmultiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth,transmit power, and/or the like). Examples of such multiple-accesstechnologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, timedivision multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency-division multipleaccess (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency-division multiple access(OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency-division multiple access(SC-FDMA) systems, time division synchronous code division multipleaccess (TD-SCDMA) systems, and Long Term Evolution (LTE).LTE/LTE-Advanced is a set of enhancements to the Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS) mobile standard promulgated by theThird Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

A wireless communication network may include a number of base stations(BSs) that can support communication for a number of user equipment(UEs). A user equipment (UE) may communicate with a base station (BS)via the downlink and uplink. The downlink (or forward link) refers tothe communication link from the BS to the UE, and the uplink (or reverselink) refers to the communication link from the UE to the BS. As will bedescribed in more detail herein, a BS may be referred to as a Node B, agNB, an access point (AP), a radio head, a transmit receive point (TRP),a New Radio (NR) BS, a 5G Node B, and/or the like.

The above multiple access technologies have been adopted in varioustelecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enablesdifferent user equipment to communicate on a municipal, national,regional, and even global level. New Radio (NR), which may also bereferred to as 5G, is a set of enhancements to the LTE mobile standardpromulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). NR isdesigned to better support mobile broadband Internet access by improvingspectral efficiency, lowering costs, improving services, making use ofnew spectrum, and better integrating with other open standards usingorthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with a cyclic prefix(CP) (CP-OFDM) on the downlink (DL), using CP-OFDM and/or SC-FDM (e.g.,also known as discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM)) onthe uplink (UL), as well as supporting beamforming, multiple-inputmultiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, and carrier aggregation.However, as the demand for mobile broadband access continues toincrease, there exists a need for further improvements in LTE and NRtechnologies. Preferably, these improvements should be applicable toother multiple access technologies and the telecommunication standardsthat employ these technologies.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF SOME EXAMPLES

The following summarizes some aspects of the present disclosure toprovide a basic understanding of the discussed technology. This summaryis not an extensive overview of all contemplated features of thedisclosure, and is intended neither to identify key or critical elementsof all aspects of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope of any orall aspects of the disclosure. The sole purpose of this summary is topresent some concepts of one or more aspects of the disclosure insummary form as a prelude to the more detailed description that ispresented later.

In some aspects, a method of wireless communication, performed by acentral entity, may include determining a set of schedulable resourcesfor a plurality of links associated with a plurality of nodes of amulti-link network, wherein at least one node, of the plurality ofnodes, is not a parent node or a child node of the central entity. Themethod may include providing scheduling information to the plurality ofnodes to schedule communication on the plurality of links based at leastin part on determining the set of schedulable resources.

In some aspects, a central entity for wireless communication may includememory and one or more processors operatively coupled to the memory. Thememory and the one or more processors may be configured to determine aset of schedulable resources for a plurality of links associated with aplurality of nodes of a multi-link network, wherein at least one node,of the plurality of nodes, is not a parent node or a child node of thecentral entity. The memory and the one or more processors may beconfigured to provide scheduling information to the plurality of nodesto schedule communication on the plurality of links based at least inpart on determining the set of schedulable resources.

In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may store oneor more instructions for wireless communication. The one or moreinstructions, when executed by one or more processors of a centralentity, may cause the one or more processors to determine a set ofschedulable resources for a plurality of links associated with aplurality of nodes of a multi-link network, wherein at least one node,of the plurality of nodes, is not a parent node or a child node of thecentral entity. The one or more instructions, when executed by the oneor more processors of the central entity, may cause the one or moreprocessors to provide scheduling information to the plurality of nodesto schedule communication on the plurality of links based at least inpart on determining the set of schedulable resources.

In some aspects, an apparatus for wireless communication may includemeans for determining a set of schedulable resources for a plurality oflinks associated with a plurality of nodes of a multi-link network,wherein at least one node, of the plurality of nodes, is not a parentnode or a child node of the apparatus. The apparatus may include meansfor providing scheduling information to the plurality of nodes toschedule communication on the plurality of links based at least in parton determining the set of schedulable resources.

In some aspects, a method of wireless communication, performed by anode, may include determining an extended slot format indicator for thenode based at least in part on a received extended slot format indicatorof a parent node of the node and a received null adjust request from achild node of the node, wherein the extended slot format indicator forthe node includes a null field identifying a non-schedulable resource ofthe node. The method may include providing the determined extended slotformat indicator to the child node of the node. The method may includeproviding the received null adjust request to the parent node of thenode.

In some aspects, a node for wireless communication may include memoryand one or more processors operatively coupled to the memory. The memoryand the one or more processors may be configured to determine anextended slot format indicator for the node based at least in part on areceived extended slot format indicator of a parent node of the node anda received null adjust request from a child node of the node, whereinthe extended slot format indicator for the node includes a null fieldidentifying a non-schedulable resource of the node. The memory and theone or more processors may be configured to provide the determinedextended slot format indicator to the child node of the node. The memoryand the one or more processors may be configured to provide the receivednull adjust request to the parent node of the node.

In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may store oneor more instructions for wireless communication. The one or moreinstructions, when executed by one or more processors of a node, maycause the one or more processors to determine an extended slot formatindicator for the node based at least in part on a received extendedslot format indicator of a parent node of the node and a received nulladjust request from a child node of the node, wherein the extended slotformat indicator for the node includes a null field identifying anon-schedulable resource of the node. The one or more instructions, whenexecuted by the one or more processors of the node, may cause the one ormore processors to provide the determined extended slot format indicatorto the child node of the node. The one or more instructions, whenexecuted by the one or more processors of the node, may cause the one ormore processors to provide the received null adjust request to theparent node of the node.

In some aspects, an apparatus for wireless communication may includemeans for determining an extended slot format indicator for theapparatus based at least in part on a received extended slot formatindicator of a parent node of the apparatus and a received null adjustrequest from a child node of the apparatus, wherein the extended slotformat indicator for the apparatus includes a null field identifying anon-schedulable resource of the apparatus. The apparatus may includemeans for providing the determined extended slot format indicator to thechild node of the apparatus. The apparatus may include means forproviding the received null adjust request to the parent node of theapparatus.

Aspects generally include a method, device, apparatus, computer programproduct, non-transitory computer-readable medium, user equipment, basestation, wireless communication device, node, central entity, andprocessing system as substantially described herein with reference toand as illustrated by the accompanying drawings and specification.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technicaladvantages of examples according to the disclosure in order that thedetailed description that follows may be better understood. Additionalfeatures and advantages will be described hereinafter. The conceptionand specific examples disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis formodifying or designing other structures for carrying out the samepurposes of the present disclosure. Such equivalent constructions do notdepart from the scope of the appended claims. Characteristics of theconcepts disclosed herein, both their organization and method ofoperation, together with associated advantages will be better understoodfrom the following description when considered in connection with theaccompanying figures. Each of the figures is provided for the purpose ofillustration and description, and not as a definition of the limits ofthe claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the above-recited features of the present disclosure can beunderstood in detail, a more particular description, briefly summarizedabove, may be had by reference to aspects, some of which are illustratedin the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appendeddrawings illustrate only certain typical aspects of this disclosure andare therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for thedescription may admit to other equally effective aspects. The samereference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similarelements.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of awireless communication network, in accordance with various aspects ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a basestation in communication with a user equipment (UE) in a wirelesscommunication network, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3A is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of aframe structure in a wireless communication network, in accordance withvarious aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3B is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an examplesynchronization communication hierarchy in a wireless communicationnetwork, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 4A-4C are diagrams illustrating an example of a network topologyfor a network, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of centralized resourcepartitioning, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of dynamic resourcecoordination, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example process performed, forexample, by a central entity, in accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example process performed, forexample, by a node, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects of the disclosure are described more fully hereinafterwith reference to the accompanying drawings. This disclosure may,however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construedas limited to any specific structure or function presented throughoutthis disclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided so that thisdisclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey thescope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Based at least inpart on the teachings herein one skilled in the art should appreciatethat the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of thedisclosure disclosed herein, whether implemented independently of orcombined with any other aspect of the disclosure. For example, anapparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using anynumber of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, the scope of thedisclosure is intended to cover such an apparatus or method which ispracticed using other structure, functionality, or structure andfunctionality in addition to or other than the various aspects of thedisclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect ofthe disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elementsof a claim.

Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented withreference to various apparatuses and techniques. These apparatuses andtechniques will be described in the following detailed description andillustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules,components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, and/or the like(collectively referred to as “elements”). These elements may beimplemented using hardware, software, or combinations thereof. Whethersuch elements are implemented as hardware or software depends upon theparticular application and design constraints imposed on the overallsystem.

It should be noted that while aspects may be described herein usingterminology commonly associated with 3G and/or 4G wireless technologies,aspects of the present disclosure can be applied in othergeneration-based communication systems, such as 5G and later, includingNR technologies.

While aspects and embodiments are described in this application byillustration to some examples, those skilled in the art will understandthat additional implementations and use cases may come about in manydifferent arrangements and scenarios. Innovations described herein maybe implemented across many differing platform types, devices, systems,shapes, sizes, packaging arrangements. For example, embodiments and/oruses may come about via integrated chip embodiments and/or othernon-module-component based devices (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles,communication devices, computing devices, industrial equipment,retail/purchasing devices, medical devices, AI-enabled devices, and/orthe like). While some examples may or may not be specifically directedto use cases or applications, a wide assortment of applicability ofdescribed innovations may occur. Implementations may range a spectrumfrom chip-level or modular components to non-modular, non-chip-levelimplementations and further to aggregate, distributed, or originalequipment manufacturer (OEM) devices or systems incorporating one ormore aspects of the described innovations. In some practical settings,devices incorporating described aspects and features may alsonecessarily include additional components and features forimplementation and practice of claimed and described embodiments. Forexample, transmission and reception of wireless signals necessarilyincludes a number of components for analog and digital purposes (e.g.,hardware components including one or more antennas, RF-chains, poweramplifiers, modulators, buffers, processors, interleavers,adders/summers, and/or the like). It is intended that innovationsdescribed herein may be practiced in a wide variety of devices,chip-level components, systems, distributed arrangements, end-userdevices, etc. of varying sizes, shapes, and constitution.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a network 100 in which aspects of thepresent disclosure may be practiced. The network 100 may be an LTEnetwork or some other wireless network, such as a 5G or NR network.Wireless network 100 may include a number of BSs 110 (shown as BS 110 a,BS 110 b, BS 110 c, and BS 110 d) and other network entities. A BS is anentity that communicates with user equipment (UEs) and may also bereferred to as a base station, a NR BS, a Node B, a gNB, a 5G node B(NB), an access point, a transmit receive point (TRP), and/or the like.Each BS may provide communication coverage for a particular geographicarea. In 3GPP, the term “cell” can refer to a coverage area of a BSand/or a BS subsystem serving this coverage area, depending on thecontext in which the term is used.

A BS may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, afemto cell, and/or another type of cell. A macro cell may cover arelatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius)and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscription. Apico cell may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allowunrestricted access by UEs with service subscription. A femto cell maycover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may allowrestricted access by UEs having association with the femto cell (e.g.,UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG)). ABS for a macro cell may bereferred to as a macro BS. ABS for a pico cell may be referred to as apico BS. A BS for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto BS or ahome BS. In the example shown in FIG. 1, a BS 110 a may be a macro BSfor a macro cell 102 a, a BS 110 b may be a pico BS for a pico cell 102b, and a BS 110 c may be a femto BS for a femto cell 102 c. A BS maysupport one or multiple (e.g., three) cells. The terms “eNB”, “basestation”, “NR BS”, “gNB”, “TRP”, “AP”, “node B”, “5G NB”, and “cell” maybe used interchangeably herein.

In some aspects, a cell may not necessarily be stationary, and thegeographic area of the cell may move according to the location of amobile BS. In some aspects, the BSs may be interconnected to one anotherand/or to one or more other BSs or network nodes (not shown) in theaccess network 100 through various types of backhaul interfaces such asa direct physical connection, a virtual network, and/or the like usingany suitable transport network.

Wireless network 100 may also include relay stations. A relay station isan entity that can receive a transmission of data from an upstreamstation (e.g., a BS or a UE) and send a transmission of the data to adownstream station (e.g., a UE or a BS). A relay station may also be aUE that can relay transmissions for other UEs. In the example shown inFIG. 1, a relay station 110 d may communicate with macro BS 110 a and aUE 120 d in order to facilitate communication between BS 110 a and UE120 d. A relay station may also be referred to as a relay BS, a relaybase station, a relay, and/or the like.

Wireless network 100 may be a heterogeneous network that includes BSs ofdifferent types, e.g., macro BSs, pico BSs, femto BSs, relay BSs, and/orthe like. These different types of BSs may have different transmit powerlevels, different coverage areas, and different impact on interferencein wireless network 100. For example, macro BSs may have a high transmitpower level (e.g., 5 to 40 Watts) whereas pico BSs, femto BSs, and relayBSs may have lower transmit power levels (e.g., 0.1 to 2 Watts).

A network controller 130 may couple to a set of BSs and may providecoordination and control for these BSs. Network controller 130 maycommunicate with the BSs via a backhaul. The BSs may also communicatewith one another, e.g., directly or indirectly via a wireless orwireline backhaul.

UEs 120 (e.g., 120 a, 120 b, 120 c) may be dispersed throughout wirelessnetwork 100, and each UE may be stationary or mobile. A UE may also bereferred to as an access terminal, a terminal, a mobile station, asubscriber unit, a station, and/or the like. A UE may be a cellularphone (e.g., a smart phone), a personal digital assistant (PDA), awireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, alaptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station,a tablet, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, anultrabook, medical device or equipment, biometric sensors/devices,wearable devices (smart watches, smart clothing, smart glasses, smartwrist bands, smart jewelry (e.g., smart ring, smart bracelet)), anentertainment device (e.g., a music or video device, or a satelliteradio), a vehicular component or sensor, smart meters/sensors,industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device,or any other suitable device that is configured to communicate via awireless or wired medium.

Some UEs may be considered machine-type communication (MTC) or evolvedor enhanced machine-type communication (eMTC) UEs. MTC and eMTC UEsinclude, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters,monitors, location tags, and/or the like, that may communicate with abase station, another device (e.g., remote device), or some otherentity. A wireless node may provide, for example, connectivity for or toa network (e.g., a wide area network such as Internet or a cellularnetwork) via a wired or wireless communication link. Some UEs may beconsidered Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, and/or may be implementedas NB-IoT (narrowband internet of things) devices. Some UEs may beconsidered a Customer Premises Equipment (CPE). UE 120 may be includedinside a housing that houses components of UE 120, such as processorcomponents, memory components, and/or the like.

In general, any number of wireless networks may be deployed in a givengeographic area. Each wireless network may support a particular radioaccess technology (RAT) and may operate on one or more frequencies. ARAT may also be referred to as a radio technology, an air interface,and/or the like. A frequency may also be referred to as a carrier, afrequency channel, and/or the like. Each frequency may support a singleRAT in a given geographic area in order to avoid interference betweenwireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, NR or 5G RATnetworks may be deployed.

In some aspects, two or more UEs 120 (e.g., shown as UE 120 a and UE 120e) may communicate directly using one or more sidelink channels (e.g.,without using a base station 110 as an intermediary to communicate withone another). For example, the UEs 120 may communicate usingpeer-to-peer (P2P) communications, device-to-device (D2D)communications, a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) protocol (e.g., which mayinclude a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) protocol, a vehicle-to-infrastructure(V2I) protocol, and/or the like), a mesh network, and/or the like. Inthis case, the UE 120 may perform scheduling operations, resourceselection operations, and/or other operations described elsewhere hereinas being performed by the base station 110.

As indicated above, FIG. 1 is provided merely as an example. Otherexamples may differ from what is described with regard to FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a design 200 of base station 110 and UE120, which may be one of the base stations and one of the UEs in FIG. 1.Base station 110 may be equipped with T antennas 234 a through 234 t,and UE 120 may be equipped with R antennas 252 a through 252 r, where ingeneral T≥1 and R≥1.

At base station 110, a transmit processor 220 may receive data from adata source 212 for one or more UEs, select one or more modulation andcoding schemes (MCS) for each UE based at least in part on channelquality indicators (CQIs) received from the UE, process (e.g., encodeand modulate) the data for each UE based at least in part on the MCSselected for the UE, and provide data symbols for all UEs. Transmitprocessor 220 may also process system information (e.g., for semi-staticresource partitioning information (SRPI) and/or the like) and controlinformation (e.g., CQI requests, grants, upper layer signaling, and/orthe like) and provide overhead symbols and control symbols. Transmitprocessor 220 may also generate reference symbols for reference signals(e.g., the cell-specific reference signal (CRS)) and synchronizationsignals (e.g., the primary synchronization signal (PSS) and secondarysynchronization signal (SSS)). A transmit (TX) multiple-inputmultiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatial processing(e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, the control symbols, the overheadsymbols, and/or the reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide Toutput symbol streams to T modulators (MODs) 232 a through 232 t. Eachmodulator 232 may process a respective output symbol stream (e.g., forOFDM and/or the like) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator232 may further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, andupconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. Tdownlink signals from modulators 232 a through 232 t may be transmittedvia T antennas 234 a through 234 t, respectively. According to variousaspects described in more detail below, the synchronization signals canbe generated with location encoding to convey additional information.

At UE 120, antennas 252 a through 252 r may receive the downlink signalsfrom base station 110 and/or other base stations and may providereceived signals to demodulators (DEMODs) 254 a through 254 r,respectively. Each demodulator 254 may condition (e.g., filter, amplify,downconvert, and digitize) a received signal to obtain input samples.Each demodulator 254 may further process the input samples (e.g., forOFDM and/or the like) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector 256may obtain received symbols from all R demodulators 254 a through 254 r,perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, andprovide detected symbols. A receive processor 258 may process (e.g.,demodulate and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for UE120 to a data sink 260, and provide decoded control information andsystem information to a controller/processor 280. A channel processormay determine reference signal received power (RSRP), received signalstrength indicator (RSSI), reference signal received quality (RSRQ),channel quality indicator (CQI), and/or the like. In some aspects, oneor more components of UE 120 may be included in a housing.

On the uplink, at UE 120, a transmit processor 264 may receive andprocess data from a data source 262 and control information (e.g., forreports comprising RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, CQI, and/or the like) fromcontroller/processor 280. Transmit processor 264 may also generatereference symbols for one or more reference signals. The symbols fromtransmit processor 264 may be precoded by a TX MIMO processor 266 ifapplicable, further processed by modulators 254 a through 254 r (e.g.,for DFT-s-OFDM, CP-OFDM, and/or the like), and transmitted to basestation 110. At base station 110, the uplink signals from UE 120 andother UEs may be received by antennas 234, processed by demodulators232, detected by a MIMO detector 236 if applicable, and furtherprocessed by a receive processor 238 to obtain decoded data and controlinformation sent by UE 120. Receive processor 238 may provide thedecoded data to a data sink 239 and the decoded control information tocontroller/processor 240. Base station 110 may include communicationunit 244 and communicate to network controller 130 via communicationunit 244. Network controller 130 may include communication unit 294,controller/processor 290, and memory 292.

Controller/processor 240 of base station 110, controller/processor 280of UE 120, and/or any other component(s) of FIG. 2 may perform one ormore techniques associated with multi-link network coordination, asdescribed in more detail elsewhere herein. For example,controller/processor 240 of base station 110, controller/processor 280of UE 120, and/or any other component(s) of FIG. 2 may perform or directoperations of, for example, process 700 of FIG. 7, process 800 of FIG.8, and/or other processes as described herein. Memories 242 and 282 maystore data and program codes for base station 110 and UE 120,respectively. A scheduler 246 may schedule UEs for data transmission onthe downlink and/or uplink.

In some aspects, a central entity (e.g., base station 110, UE 120,and/or the like) may include means for determining a set of schedulableresources for a plurality of links associated with a plurality of nodesof a multi-link network (e.g., using controller/processor 240,controller processor 280, and/or the like), means for providingscheduling information to the plurality of nodes to schedulecommunication on the plurality of links based at least in part ondetermining the set of schedulable resources (e.g., usingcontroller/processor 240, transmit process 220, TX MIMO processor 230,modulator 232, antenna 234, controller/processor 280, transmit processor264, TX MIMO processor 266, modulator 254, antenna 252, and/or thelike), and/or the like. In some aspects, such means may include one ormore components of base station 110, UE 120, and/or the like describedin connection with FIG. 2.

In some aspects, a node (e.g., base station 110, UE 120, and/or thelike) may include means for determining an extended slot formatindicator for the node based at least in part on a received extendedslot format indicator of a parent node of the node and a received nulladjust request from a child node of the node (e.g., usingcontroller/processor 240, controller processor 280, and/or the like_),means for providing the determined extended slot format indicator to thechild node of the node (e.g., using controller/processor 240, transmitprocess 220, TX MIMO processor 230, modulator 232, antenna 234,controller/processor 280, transmit processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266,modulator 254, antenna 252, and/or the like), means for providing thereceived null adjust request to the parent node of the node (e.g., usingcontroller/processor 240, transmit process 220, TX MIMO processor 230,modulator 232, antenna 234, controller/processor 280, transmit processor264, TX MIMO processor 266, modulator 254, antenna 252, and/or thelike), and/or the like. In some aspects, such means may include one ormore components of base station 110, UE 120, and/or the like describedin connection with FIG. 2.

As indicated above, FIG. 2 is provided merely as an example. Otherexamples may differ from what is described with regard to FIG. 2.

FIG. 3A shows an example frame structure 300 for frequency divisionduplexing (FDD) in a telecommunications system (e.g., NR). Thetransmission timeline for each of the downlink and uplink may bepartitioned into units of radio frames (sometimes referred to asframes). Each radio frame may have a predetermined duration (e.g., 10milliseconds (ms)) and may be partitioned into a set of Z (Z≥1)subframes (e.g., with indices of 0 through Z−1). Each subframe may havea predetermined duration (e.g., 1 ms) and may include a set of slots(e.g., 2^(m) slots per subframe are shown in FIG. 3A, where m is anumerology used for a transmission, such as 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and/or thelike). Each slot may include a set of L symbol periods. For example,each slot may include fourteen symbol periods (e.g., as shown in FIG.3A), seven symbol periods, or another number of symbol periods. In acase where the subframe includes two slots (e.g., when m=1), thesubframe may include 2 L symbol periods, where the 2 L symbol periods ineach subframe may be assigned indices of 0 through 2L−1. In someaspects, a scheduling unit for the FDD may frame-based, subframe-based,slot-based, symbol-based, and/or the like.

While some techniques are described herein in connection with frames,subframes, slots, and/or the like, these techniques may equally apply toother types of wireless communication structures, which may be referredto using terms other than “frame,” “subframe,” “slot,” and/or the likein 5G NR. In some aspects, a wireless communication structure may referto a periodic time-bounded communication unit defined by a wirelesscommunication standard and/or protocol. Additionally, or alternatively,different configurations of wireless communication structures than thoseshown in FIG. 3A may be used.

In certain telecommunications (e.g., NR), a base station may transmitsynchronization signals. For example, a base station may transmit aprimary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal(SSS), and/or the like, on the downlink for each cell supported by thebase station. The PSS and SSS may be used by UEs for cell search andacquisition. For example, the PSS may be used by UEs to determine symboltiming, and the SSS may be used by UEs to determine a physical cellidentifier, associated with the base station, and frame timing. The basestation may also transmit a physical broadcast channel (PBCH). The PBCHmay carry some system information, such as system information thatsupports initial access by UEs.

In some aspects, the base station may transmit the PSS, the SSS, and/orthe PBCH in accordance with a synchronization communication hierarchy(e.g., a synchronization signal (SS) hierarchy) including multiplesynchronization communications (e.g., SS blocks), as described below inconnection with FIG. 3B.

FIG. 3B is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example SShierarchy, which is an example of a synchronization communicationhierarchy. As shown in FIG. 3B, the SS hierarchy may include an SS burstset, which may include a plurality of SS bursts (identified as SS burst0 through SS burst B−1, where B is a maximum number of repetitions ofthe SS burst that may be transmitted by the base station). As furthershown, each SS burst may include one or more SS blocks (identified as SSblock 0 through SS block (b_(max_SS)−1), where b_(max_SS)−1 is a maximumnumber of SS blocks that can be carried by an SS burst). In someaspects, different SS blocks may be beam-formed differently. An SS burstset may be periodically transmitted by a wireless node, such as every Xmilliseconds, as shown in FIG. 3B. In some aspects, an SS burst set mayhave a fixed or dynamic length, shown as Y milliseconds in FIG. 3B.

The SS burst set shown in FIG. 3B is an example of a synchronizationcommunication set, and other synchronization communication sets may beused in connection with the techniques described herein. Furthermore,the SS block shown in FIG. 3B is an example of a synchronizationcommunication, and other synchronization communications may be used inconnection with the techniques described herein.

In some aspects, an SS block includes resources that carry the PSS, theSSS, the PBCH, and/or other synchronization signals (e.g., a tertiarysynchronization signal (TSS)) and/or synchronization channels. In someaspects, multiple SS blocks are included in an SS burst, and the PSS,the SSS, and/or the PBCH may be the same across each SS block of the SSburst. In some aspects, a single SS block may be included in an SSburst. In some aspects, the SS block may be at least four symbol periodsin length, where each symbol carries one or more of the PSS (e.g.,occupying one symbol), the SSS (e.g., occupying one symbol), and/or thePBCH (e.g., occupying two symbols).

In some aspects, the symbols of an SS block are consecutive, as shown inFIG. 3B. In some aspects, the symbols of an SS block arenon-consecutive. Similarly, in some aspects, one or more SS blocks ofthe SS burst may be transmitted in consecutive radio resources (e.g.,consecutive symbol periods) during one or more slots. Additionally, oralternatively, one or more SS blocks of the SS burst may be transmittedin non-consecutive radio resources.

In some aspects, the SS bursts may have a burst period, whereby the SSblocks of the SS burst are transmitted by the base station according tothe burst period. In other words, the SS blocks may be repeated duringeach SS burst. In some aspects, the SS burst set may have a burst setperiodicity, whereby the SS bursts of the SS burst set are transmittedby the base station according to the fixed burst set periodicity. Inother words, the SS bursts may be repeated during each SS burst set.

The base station may transmit system information, such as systeminformation blocks (SIBs) on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)in certain slots. The base station may transmit control information/dataon a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in C symbol periods of aslot, where B may be configurable for each slot. The base station maytransmit traffic data and/or other data on the PDSCH in the remainingsymbol periods of each slot.

As indicated above, FIGS. 3A and 3B are provided as examples. Otherexamples may differ from what is described with regard to FIGS. 3A and3B.

FIGS. 4A-4C are diagrams illustrating an example 400 of a networktopology for a multi-link network, in accordance with various aspects ofthe present disclosure. Self-backhauling or integrated access/backhaul(IAB) may be deployed to use a common set of resources for accesstraffic and backhaul traffic. For example, a first node (e.g., a BS 110,a UE 120, and/or the like) may communicate backhaul traffic via firstmmWave resources with a second node, and may communicate access trafficvia second mmWave resources with a third node. In some aspects, thesecond node and the third node may be the same node. For example, thefirst node may communicate traffic via first mmWave resources and secondmmWave resources. Although some aspects, described herein, are describedin terms of an IAB deployment, some aspects described herein may be usedin connection with other types of multi-hop networks.

As shown in FIG. 4A, example 400 may include multiple nodes 402 (e.g.,BSs) and multiple nodes 404 (e.g., UEs). At least one node (e.g., node402-1) may communicate with a core network via a backhaul link 406, suchas a fiber connection, a wireless backhaul connection, and/or the like.Nodes 402 and 404 may communicate with each other using a set of links408, such as a set of mmWave links; a 3G, 4G, 5G, etc. air interface;and/or the like. In some aspects, a node 402 may correspond to BS 110 orUE 120 shown in FIG. 1. Similarly, a node 404 may correspond to BS 110or a UE 120 shown in FIG. 1.

As further shown in FIG. 4A, one or more nodes 402 or 404 maycommunicate indirectly via one or more other nodes 402 or 404. Forexample, data may be transferred from a core network to node 404-6 viabackhaul link 406, a link 408 between node 402-1 and node 402-5, a link408 between node 402-5 and node 402-4, a link 408 between node 402-4 andnode 404-5, and a link 408 between node 404-5 and node 404-6. In someaspects, multiple different paths may be used to communicate databetween nodes 402 or 404. For example, node 402-5 may communicate withnode 402-4 via a single link 408 between node 402-5 and node 402-4(e.g., a direct link) and/or via a first link 408 between node 402-5 andnode 402-3 and a second link between node 402-3 and node 402-4 (e.g., anindirect link).

As shown in FIG. 4B, nodes 402 and nodes 404 can be arranged in ahierarchical topology to enable management of network resources. Eachlink 408 may be associated with a master link end point (master LEP) anda slave link end point (slave LEP), which may define a hierarchy betweennodes 402 or 404. For example, node 402-6 may communicate with node402-7 via link 408-1. In this case, node 402-6 is associated with amaster link end point and node 402-7 is associated with a slave link endpoint for link 408-1, which may define node 402-6 as hierarchicallysuperior to node 402-7, and node 402-7 as hierarchically inferior tonode 402-6 with regard to link 408-1. In this case, node 402-6 may betermed a master node or a parent node and node 402-7 may be termed aslave node or a child node. Moreover, node 402-6 may be defined asupstream relative to node 402-7 (and node 402-7 may be defined asdownstream relative to node 402-6).

Similarly, node 402-7 includes a master link end point for link 408-2and node 402-8 includes a slave link end point for link 408-2. In thiscase, node 402-7 is hierarchically superior and upstream to node 402-8,and node 402-8 is hierarchically inferior and downstream to node 402-7with regard to link 408-2. In this case, node 402-7 may be termed themaster node or the parent node and node 402-8 may be termed the slavenode or the child node.

As shown in FIG. 4C, a set of interfaces may be illustrated for a set ofnodes 402 in a hierarchical topology. In this case, node 402-10 (e.g., afirst IAB node) may be hierarchically inferior to node 402-11 (e.g., asecond IAB node), and may be hierarchically inferior to node 402-12(e.g., an IAB donor). Similarly, node 402-11 may be hierarchicallyinferior to node 402-12.

In some aspects, an IAB node may be a node that relays traffic to orfrom an anchor through one or more hops (e.g., one or more other nodes).In some aspects, an IAB donor may be a node that is associated with awireline connection to a core network. For example, node 402-12 mayinclude a central unit (CU) that includes an NG interface connecting theCU to a core unit 410 (e.g., a Next Gen core (NGC) unit), which may be anode of the core network.

In some aspects, node 402-12 may communicate with nodes 402-10 and402-11 via another interface. For example, the CU of node 402-12 mayinclude F1 interfaces to respective distributed units (DUs) of nodes402-10 and 402-11. Additionally, or alternatively, a DU of node 402-12(e.g., which may be a master link end point) may include an NR Uuinterface to an MT (e.g., which may be a slave link end point for the NRUu interface) of node 402-11 and a radio link control adapt-type channel(RLC/adapt) interface to the MT of node 402-11. Additionally, oralternatively, the DU of node 402-12 may include one or more otherinterfaces, such as an NR Uu interface to a UE 120 (e.g., a node 404),and/or the like.

In some aspects, node 402-11 may communicate using one or more otherinterfaces. For example, a DU of node 402-11 may include an NR Uuinterface to an MT of node 402-10, an RLC/adapt interface to the MT ofnode 402-11, an NR Uu interface to a UE 120, and/or the like. In someaspects, node 402-10 may include one or more other interfaces, such asan NR Uu interface to a UE 120.

In some aspects, the CU, the DUs, and the MTs may be associated with asubset of functions for the nodes 402. For example, the CU of node402-12 may be associated with communicating with a core network, and mayoperate in connection with a radio resource control (RRC) layer, apacket data control protocol (PDCP) layer, and/or the like.Additionally, or alternatively, the DUs may be scheduling nodes forcorresponding MTs, which may be child nodes. In other words, DUs mayrepresent master link end points for corresponding MTs, which mayrepresent slave link end points. In some aspects, DUs and MTs may beassociated with communicating scheduling information in connection witha radio link control (RLC) layer, a media access control (MAC) layer, aphysical (PHY) layer, and/or the like.

As indicated above, FIGS. 4A-4C are provided as examples. Other examplesmay differ from what is described with regard to FIGS. 4A-4C.

In some communications systems, such as 5G or NR, a multi-link networkor multi-hop network may be deployed to enable communication betweenwireless nodes of the network. A policy, such as a half-duplexconstraint, may be enforced for nodes of a network, such as a parentnode, a node, and a child node arranged hierarchically. However, an MTof the node may receive scheduling from the parent node indicatingtransmission via a link, and a DU of the node may provide scheduling tothe child node indicating reception on another link, which may violatethe half-duplex constraint. Moreover, a lack of flexibility inscheduling in a multi-link network may result in inefficient use ofnetwork resources. Some aspects described herein enable multi-linkresource coordination. For example, a central entity may be deployed toenforce centralized resource partitioning by providing schedulinginformation identifying a set of schedulable resources determined basedat least in part on feedback information (e.g., a resource utilizationreport). Similarly, a node may be configured to provide an extended slotformat indicator (SFI) based at least in part on a received extended SFIand received uplink feedback to achieve dynamic resource coordination.In this way, a multi-link network may achieve improved latency, improvedreliability, improved scheduling flexibility, and/or the like relativeto other techniques for resource coordination.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example 500 of centralized resourcepartitioning, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure. As shown in FIG. 5, example 500 includes a central entity502 (e.g., an IAB donor), a node 504, a node 506, a UE 508, and a UE 510in a hierarchical topology multi-link network. Central entity 502 andnode 504 may communicate via a link 522; node 506 and node 504 maycommunicate via a link 524; UE 508 and node 506 may communicate via alink 526; and UE 510 and node 506 may communicate via a link 528.

As further shown in FIG. 5, and by reference number 540, central entity502 may receive a resource utilization report. For example, centralentity 502 may receive one or more resource utilization reports from oneor more child nodes of central entity 502, such as node 504, node 506,UE 508, UE 510, and/or the like. In some aspects, a node, such as node504, node 506, UE 508, UE 510, and/or the like may determine a resourceutilization, and may provide the resource utilization report to enablecentral entity 502 to determine a schedulable resources bitmap. Forexample, node 504 may receive a first schedulable resources bitmap fromcentral entity 502, may use one or more schedulable resources in themulti-link network, and may provide a resource utilization reportindicating a utilization of the schedulable resources identified by thefirst schedulable resources bitmap. In this case, central entity 502 maydetermine a second schedulable resources bitmap for node 504 based atleast in part on the resource utilization report (e.g., and one or moreother resource utilization reports from one or more other child nodes ofcentral entity 502), thereby enabling centralized dynamicreconfiguration of scheduling for the multi-link network.

As further shown in FIG. 5, and by and by reference number 542, centralentity 502 may determine a schedulable resources bitmap. For example,central entity 502 may determine one or more schedulable resourcesbitmaps for node 504, node 506, UE 508, UE 510, and/or the like. In someaspects, central entity 502 may determine the schedulable resourcesbitmap based at least in part on a resource utilization report receivedfrom, and propagated upstream by node 504, node 506, UE 508, UE 510,and/or the like.

In some aspects, central entity 502 may determine the schedulableresources bitmap based at least in part on a policy in the multi-linknetwork. For example, for nodes with a direct connection (e.g., nodes504 and 506 via link 524), central entity 502 may determine a firstschedulable resources bitmap for node 504 and a second schedulableresources bitmap for node 506. In this case, the first schedulableresources bitmap and the second schedulable resources bitmap may bedetermined such that schedulable resources indicated to nodes 504 and506 are non-overlapping in time. In other words, a first set ofschedulable resources indicated to node 504 does not overlap in timewith a second set of schedulable resources indicated to node 506 viarespective schedulable resources bitmaps. In this way, a half-duplexingpolicy may be enforced for the multi-link network.

Additionally, or alternatively, as shown by reference number 544,central entity 502 may determine a first schedulable resources bitmapand a second schedulable resources bitmap for node 504 and node 506,respectively, such that schedulable resources indicated to nodes 504 and506 are overlapping in time, but are associated with a coordinatedsemi-static slot format configuration. In this case, the respectiveschedulable resource bitmaps are such that node 504 is receiving fromboth central entity 502 and node 506 in a third slot and is transmittingto both central entity 502 and node 506 in a fourth slot. In this way,central entity 502 may enforce a half-duplexing policy for themulti-link network.

In some aspects, central entity 502 may determine the schedulableresources bitmap based at least in part on a particular schedulinggranularity. For example, central entity 502 may determine theschedulable resources bitmap to indicate a scheduling for one or moreslots (e.g., a single slot or a slot group), which may reduce signalingoverhead relative to scheduling on a per symbol or per symbol groupbasis, thereby improving network utilization. Additionally, oralternatively, central entity 502 may determine the schedulableresources bitmap to indicate scheduling for one or symbols (e.g., asingle symbol or a symbol group), which may enable greater flexibilityin scheduling patterns relative to scheduling on a per slot or per slotgroup basis, thereby improving latency. In some aspects, central entity502 may determine a parameter of a schedulable resources bitmap (e.g., aparticular bit indicator) based at least in part on a channel type. Forexample, central entity 502 may determine a first schedulable resourcesbitmap parameter for resources for a physical downlink control channel(PDDCH), a second schedulable resources bitmap parameter for resourcesfor a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), and/or the like.

In some aspects, central entity 502 may determine the schedulableresources bitmap and/or one or more parameters thereof based at least inpart on a radio resource control (RRC) configuration of one or moreother nodes, such as node 504, node 506, UE 508, UE 510, and/or thelike. In some aspects, central entity 502 may determine the schedulableresources bitmap based at least in part on a resource allocation. Forexample, central entity 502 may determine the schedulable resourcesbitmap to apply to all allocated resources. In this case, one or moreallocated resources, which correspond to a non-schedulable resourceassociated with the schedulable resources bitmap, are invalid.

Additionally, or alternatively, central entity 502 may determine theschedulable resources bitmap based at least in part on a channel type orresource allocation type. For example, central entity 502 may determinethat some allocated resources, such as synchronization signal block(SSB) resources, type-0 PDCCH resources, PRACH resources, and/or thelike are classified as always schedulable resources, and may determinethe schedulable resources bitmap to indicate for allocated resourcesthat are not classified as always schedulable resources. In this case,node 504 may apply the schedulable resources bitmap to a portion of aresource allocation that is not classified as always schedulableresources. In some aspects, central entity 502 may dynamically indicatea policy for resolving a conflict between a schedulable resources bitmapand a resource allocation associated with, for example, a particulartype of channel.

In some aspects, central entity 502 may determine an attribute parameterfor the schedulable resources bitmap. For example, central entity 502may determine an attribute parameter for a first schedulable resourcesbitmap indicating that the first schedulable resources bitmap appliesfor an access link of node 506, and may determine an attribute parameterfor a second schedulable resources bitmap indicating that the secondschedulable resources bitmap applies for a backhaul link of node 506. Inthis way, central entity 502 may determine schedulable resources bitmapsfor nodes associated with a plurality of links.

Similarly, the central entity 502 may configure an attribute parameterindicating that a particular schedulable resources bitmap applies to alllinks of node 506, all access links of node 506, a subset of accesslinks of node 506, all backhaul links of node 506, a subset of backhaullinks of node 506, and/or the like. Additionally, or alternatively,central entity 502 may determine an attribute parameter identifying anallocation granularity (e.g., whether the schedulable resources bitmapapplies on a per slot basis, a per symbol basis, and/or the like), atime parameter (e.g., whether the schedulable resources bitmap appliesto a particular time segment, to a particular scheduling type, such asFDM, and/or the like), a channel type parameter (e.g., whether theschedulable resources bitmap applies to an SSB, a PDCCH, a PDSCH, aphysical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a PRACH, and/or the like), atraffic type parameter (e.g., whether the schedulable resources bitmapapplies to enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) traffic, ultra-reliable lowlatency communications (URLLC) traffic, and/or the like), and/or thelike.

As further shown in FIG. 5, and by reference number 546, central entity502 may provide the schedulable resources bitmap. For example, centralentity 502 may provide the schedulable resources bitmap to node 504. Insome aspects, central entity 502 may provide a plurality of schedulableresources bitmaps. For example, central entity 502 may provide a firstschedulable resources bitmap to node 504, a second schedulable resourcesbitmap to node 506, and/or the like. In this way, central entity 502 mayschedule communications on the multi-link network such that a policy,such as a half-duplexing constraint, is satisfied.

In some aspects, central entity 502 may provide the schedulableresources bitmap via a particular interface. For example, central entity502 may provide a first schedulable resources bitmap to node 504 via anF1 application protocol (F1-AP) interface, and may provide a secondschedulable resources bitmap to node 506 via an F1-AP interface.Similarly, central entity 502 may receive the resource utilizationreport from, for example, node 504 and/or node 506 via respective F1-APinterfaces. In some aspects, a set of interaction rules for theschedulable resources bitmap and a resource allocation may be stored ina data structure (e.g., of central entity 502, node 504, node 506,and/or the like, and may be signaled using an F1-AP interface.Additionally, or alternatively, the set of interaction rules forinterpreting the schedulable resources bitmap may be dynamicallyindicated based at least in part on a selection of one or moreinteraction rules of a set of candidate interaction rules.

In some aspects, the set of interaction rules may specify that theschedulable resource bitmap is applicable for all resource allocations,and any allocated resources that are associated with non-schedulableresources are invalid. Additionally, or alternatively, the set ofinteraction rules may establish that a resource allocation associatedwith a synchronization signal block (SSB), a type-0 physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH), a physical random access channel (PRACH),and/or the like are to be considered schedulable resources, and theschedulable resources bitmap is only applicable to a remaining resourceallocation. Additionally, or alternatively, the set of interaction rulesmay establish that a mobile terminal (MT) of a node (e.g., node 504,node 506, and/or the like) is to cancel an operation that conflicts withan operation of a co-located distributed unit (DU) of the node at theDU's schedulable resources.

In some aspects, an interaction rule may define that time resources withchannel allocations that have a threshold performance impact (e.g., anSSB, a type-0 PDCCH, a PRACH, etc.) are always schedulable. In someaspects, an interaction rule may define that resources are to beinterpretable as schedulable resources for a particular type of link.For example, in a synchronous network, resources of an SSB or type-0PDCCH allocation may be schedulable for an access type of link. In someaspects, a schedulable pattern for the schedulable resource bitmap maybe constrained based at least in part on a potential conflict with aresource allocation. In some aspects, a central unit (CU) (e.g., centralentity 502) and a node (e.g., node 504, node 506, etc.) may allocateresources based at least in part on a schedulable pattern.

In some aspects, a CU (e.g., central entity 502), an MT (e.g., node 504,node 506, etc.), a DU (e.g., node 504, node 506, etc.) may resolve aparticular conflict between a schedulable resource bitmap and a resourceallocation. For example, when a radio-resource control (RRC)-configuredallocation (e.g., a periodic or semi-persistent allocation) withallocated resources overlapping with non-schedulable resources issignaled, a DU may cancel transmission or reception at non-schedulableresources based at least in part on the schedulable resources bitmap.Similarly, child nodes of the DU may refrain from transmission orreception at non-schedulable resources without having signaled aschedulable resource bitmap at an NR Uu interface.

In some aspects, based at least in part on receiving the schedulableresources bitmap, a node, such as node 504 or node 506, may configurelayer 2 (L2) scheduling. For example, node 506 may determine L2scheduling for link 526 with UE 508 based at least in part on theschedulable resources bitmap to satisfy a policy of the multi-linknetwork, such as a half-duplexing policy. In this way, central entity502 may perform centralized resource partitioning for a multi-linknetwork.

As indicated above, FIG. 5 is provided as an example. Other examples maydiffer from what is described with regard to FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example 600 of dynamic resourcecoordination, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure. As shown in FIG. 6, example 600 includes a parent node 602,a node 604, and a child node 606 communicating in a multi-link network.In some aspects, parent node 602 and node 604 may communicate via link612, and node 604 and child node 606 may communicate via link 614.

As further shown in FIG. 6, and by reference number 622, node 604 mayreceive an extended SFI from parent node 602. For example, node 604 mayreceive the extended SFI from parent node 602 via link 612. In someaspects, the extended SFI may include a null field. For example, parentnode 602 may set a null (N) value for a field to dynamically indicatenon-schedulable resources to node 604 (e.g., a child node of parent node602). In some aspects, the null value may be applicable for a particulartype of resource. For example, parent node 602 may not set the nullvalue for a resource that is allocated for a synchronization signalblock (SSB), a physical random access channel (PRACH), a physicaldownlink control channel (PDDCH) type-0, and/or the like.

In some aspects, the extended SFI may include one or more other values,such as a downlink (↓) value, an uplink value (↑), a flexible (x) value(e.g., that may be flexibly used for downlink or uplink), and/or thelike. In this way, parent node 602 may indicate scheduling to node 604.In some aspects, node 604 may receive the extended SFI based at least inpart on dynamic coordination being configured for the network. Forexample, a first node (e.g., node 604) may transmit a dynamiccoordination flag to a second node (e.g., parent node 602) to indicatethat dynamic coordination is to be enabled based at least in part on acapability of the first node and/or the second node.

As further shown in FIG. 6, and by reference number 624, node 604 mayreceive a null adjust request from child node 606. For example, node 604may receive the null adjust request from child node 606 via link 614. Insome aspects, the null adjust request may include a value indicating achange to a null field of an extended SFI message. For example, childnode 606 may indicate an increase to a quantity of null fields or areduction to a quantity of null fields. Additionally, or alternatively,child node 606 may indicate that no change is to be applied to the nullfields. In some aspects, node 604 may receive the null adjust requestvia a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) message, a media accesscontrol (MAC) control element (CE) message, and/or the like.

As further shown in FIG. 6, and by reference number 626, node 604 maydetermine an extended SFI based at least in part on the received SFI andthe received null adjust request. For example, node 604 may determinethe extended SFI based at least in part on values of the receivedextended SFI from parent node 602 and a value for the received nulladjust request from child node 606. In this way, node 604 uses theextended SFI and the null adjust request to dynamically coordinatecommunication in a multi-link network. In some aspects, node 604 maydetermine the extended SFI to enforce one or more policies for themulti-link network. For example, node 604 may determine the extended SFIto cause a scheduling for link 614 and link 612 to satisfy ahalf-duplexing policy.

As further shown in FIG. 6, and by reference number 628, node 604 mayprovide the determined extended SFI to child node 606. For example, node604 may provide the determined extended SFI to child node 606 (and/or toone or more other child nodes). In some aspects, node 604 may providethe determined SFI to child node 606 to indicate to child node 606 aschedule for a monitoring occasion (e.g., a set of 20 slots of a channelassociated with link 614).

In some aspects, the determined extended SFI may be associated with aparticular delay corresponding to a PDCCH decoding capability of, forexample, node 604. For example, node 604 may be associated with aparticular delay in decoding a PDCCH conveying the received extendedSFI. In this case, a communication schedule may account for theparticular delay by including one or more repeated slots. For example,for a one slot per hop delay in a multi-link network with a set of 4hierarchical nodes, a first monitoring occasion at a first node may beassociated with 4 repeated slots, a second monitoring occasion at asecond node may be associated with 3 repeated slots, a third monitoringoccasion at a third node may be associated with 2 repeated slots, and afourth monitoring occasion at a fourth node may be associated with 1repeated slot. In this way, each node (e.g., parent node 602, node 604,child node 606, and/or the like) may determine a slot format for amonitoring occasion based at least in part on an extended SFI.

As further shown in FIG. 6, and by reference number 630, node 604 mayprovide the received null adjust request to parent node 602. Forexample, node 604 may propagate the received null adjust request toparent node 602 to enable parent node 602 to adjust a schedule of a nextextended SFI that is to be provided to node 604 to schedule link 612 forparent node 602 and node 604. In this way, node 604 enables uplinkfeedback for dynamic coordination in a multi-link network.

As indicated above, FIG. 6 is provided as an example. Other examples maydiffer from what is described with regard to FIG. 6.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example process 700 performed, forexample, by a central entity, in accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure. Example process 700 is an example where a centralentity (e.g., BS 110, UE 120, central entity 502, and/or the like)performs centralized resource partitioning.

As shown in FIG. 7, in some aspects, process 700 may include determininga set of schedulable resources for a plurality of links associated witha plurality of nodes of a multi-link network, wherein at least one node,of the plurality of nodes, is not a parent node or a child node of thecentral entity (block 710). For example, the central entity (e.g., usingcontroller/processor 240, controller/processor 280, and/or the like) maydetermine a set of schedulable resources for a plurality of linksassociated with a plurality of nodes of a multi-link network, wherein atleast one node, of the plurality of nodes, is not a parent node or achild node of the central entity, as described in more detail above withreference to FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, 5, and/or 6.

As shown in FIG. 7, in some aspects, process 700 may include providingscheduling information to the plurality of nodes to schedulecommunication on the plurality of links based at least in part ondetermining the set of schedulable resources (block 720). For example,the central entity (e.g., using controller/processor 240, transmitprocessor 220, TX MIMO processor 230, MOD 232, antenna 234,controller/processor 280, transmit processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266,MOD 254, antenna 252, and/or the like) may provide schedulinginformation to the plurality of nodes to schedule communication on theplurality of links based at least in part on determining the set ofschedulable resources, as described in more detail above with referenceto FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, 5, and/or 6.

Process 700 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect orany combination of aspects described below and/or in connection with oneor more other processes described elsewhere herein.

In a first aspect, the central entity is configured to determine the setof schedulable resources based at least in part on a resourceutilization report received from another one of the plurality of nodes.In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, thescheduling information is a schedulable resource bitmap, wherein bits ofthe schedulable resource bitmap indicate whether corresponding resourceunits are schedulable by a particular node of the plurality of nodes. Ina third aspect, alone or in combination with any one of the first andsecond aspects, a message received by the central entity to identify theset of schedulable resources or a message conveying the schedulinginformation is an F1 Application Protocol (F1-AP) message. In a fourthaspect, alone or in combination with any one of the first through thirdaspects, a first subset of the set of schedulable resources isassociated with a first direction in the network and a second subset ofthe set of schedulable resources is associated with a second directionin the network. In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with any oneof the first through fourth aspects, the first subset and the secondsubset are non-overlapping in a time domain.

In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with any one of the firstthrough fifth aspects, the first subset and the second subset areoverlapping in time and associated with a coordinated semi-static slotformat configuration. In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination withany one of the first through sixth aspects, the central entity isconfigured to schedule communication on at least one of: a per slotbasis, a per slot group basis, a per symbol basis, or a per symbol groupbasis. In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with any one of thefirst through seventh aspects, the central entity is configured todetermine the scheduling information based at least in part on at leastone of radio resource configuration of the plurality of nodes.

In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with any one of the firstthrough eighth aspects, the central entity is configured to receive aresource utilization report identifying a utilization of one or moreschedulable resources, and the resource utilization report is determinedbased at least in part on layer 2 (L2) scheduling. In a tenth aspect,alone or in combination with any one of the first through ninth aspects,the set of scheduling resources are determined based at least in part onat least one of: a time resource, a channel allocation, a link type, ascheduling pattern capability parameter, a resource availability, anallocation type, or an aggregation parameter. In an eleventh aspect,alone or in combination with any one of the first through tenth aspects,the scheduling information is associated with an attribute parameter,and the attribute parameter identifies at least one of: an allocationgranularity, a link association, a time segment, a channel type, or atraffic type.

In a twelfth aspect, alone or in combination with any one of the firstthrough eleventh aspects, the scheduling information is associated withone or more links of the plurality of links, and the one or more linksinclude at least one of: the plurality of links, a subset of theplurality of links, a set of access links of the plurality of links, aset of backhaul links of the plurality of links. In a thirteenth aspect,alone or in combination with any one of the first through twelfthaspects, the scheduling information is associated with a channel type,and the channel type includes at least one of: a synchronization signalblock channel, a physical downlink control channel, a physical downlinkshared channel, or a physical uplink shared channel. In a fourteenthaspect, alone or in combination with any one of the first throughthirteenth aspects, the scheduling information is configured for aparticular channel type based at least in part on explicit configurationinformation included in the scheduling information or implicitconfiguration information associated with a radio resource configurationmessage.

In a fifteenth aspect, alone or in combination with any one of the firstthrough fourteenth aspects, the central entity is configured to complywith one or more interaction rules for the set of schedulable resources.In a sixteenth aspect, alone or in combination with any one of the firstthrough fifteenth aspects, the one or more interaction rules define theset of schedulable resources as applicable for an entirety of a resourceallocation. In a seventeenth aspect, alone or in combination with anyone of the first through sixteenth aspects, the one or more interactionrules define a particular type of channel as a schedulable resource, andthe particular type of channel includes at least one of: asynchronization signal block, a type-0 physical downlink controlchannel, or a physical random access channel.

In an eighteenth aspect, alone or in combination with any one of thefirst through seventeenth aspects, the one or more interaction rulesdefine a particular type of link. In a nineteenth aspect, alone or incombination with any one of the first through eighteenth aspects,providing the scheduling information includes causing a first node, ofthe plurality of nodes, to cancel an operation that conflicts with anoperation of a second node, of the plurality of nodes, in accordancewith the one or more interaction rules. In a twentieth aspect, alone orin combination with any one of the first through nineteenth aspects, afirst subset of the set of schedulable resources is associated with afirst scheduling node, of the plurality of nodes, and a second subset ofthe set of schedulable resources is associated with a second schedulingnode of the plurality of nodes, and the first scheduling node isdirectly connected to the second scheduling node.

Although FIG. 7 shows example blocks of process 700, in some aspects,process 700 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, differentblocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted in FIG. 7.Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 700may be performed in parallel.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example process 800 performed, forexample, by a node, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure. Example process 800 is an example where a node (e.g., BS110, UE 120, node 604, and/or the like) of a network performs dynamicresource coordination.

As shown in FIG. 8, in some aspects, process 800 may include determiningan extended slot format indicator for the node based at least in part ona received extended slot format indicator of a parent node of the nodeand a received null adjust request from a child node of the node,wherein the extended slot format indicator for the node includes a nullfield identifying a non-schedulable resource of the node (block 810).For example, the node (e.g., using controller/processor 240,controller/processor 280, and/or the like) may determine an extendedslot format indicator for the node based at least in part on a receivedextended slot format indicator of a parent node of the node and areceived null adjust request from a child node of the node, wherein theextended slot format indicator for the node includes a null fieldidentifying a non-schedulable resource of the node, as described in moredetail above with reference to FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, 5, and/or 6.

As shown in FIG. 8, in some aspects, process 800 may include providingthe determined extended slot format indicator to the child node of thenode (block 820). For example, the node (e.g., usingcontroller/processor 240, transmit processor 220, TX MIMO processor 230,MOD 232, antenna 234, controller/processor 280, transmit processor 264,TX MIMO processor 266, MOD 254, antenna 252, and/or the like) mayprovide the determined extended slot format indicator to the child nodeof the node, as described in more detail above with reference to FIGS.4A, 4B, 4C, 5, and/or 6.

As shown in FIG. 8, in some aspects, process 800 may include providingthe received null adjust request to the parent node of the node (block830). For example, the node (e.g., using controller/processor 240,transmit processor 220, TX MIMO processor 230, MOD 232, antenna 234,controller/processor 280, transmit processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266,MOD 254, antenna 252, and/or the like) may provide the received nulladjust request to the parent node of the node, as described in moredetail above with reference to FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, 5, and/or 6.

Process 800 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect orany combination of aspects described below and/or in connection with oneor more other processes described elsewhere herein.

In a first aspect, the node is configured to receive the received nulladjust request message in a physical uplink control channel or a mediaaccess control (MAC) control element (CE). In a second aspect, alone orin combination with the first aspect, a quantity of repeated slots inthe extended slot format indicator for the node relative to the receivedextended slot format indicator of the parent node corresponds to aphysical downlink control channel decoding capability and a physicaldownlink channel monitoring occasion schedule.

In a third aspect, alone or in combination with any one or more of thefirst and second aspects, the node is configured to use the extendedslot format indicator based at least in part on a value for a dynamiccoordination flag. In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with anyone or more of the first through third aspects, the node is configuredto define one or more slots as null slots and one or more symbols asnull symbols. In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with any one ormore of the first through fourth aspects, the null slots are notresources allocated for at least one of: a synchronization signal block,a physical random access channel, or a type-0 physical downlink controlchannel.

Although FIG. 8 shows example blocks of process 800, in some aspects,process 800 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, differentblocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted in FIG. 8.Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 800may be performed in parallel.

The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but isnot intended to be exhaustive or to limit the aspects to the preciseform disclosed. Modifications and variations may be made in light of theabove disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the aspects.

As used herein, the term component is intended to be broadly construedas hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. Asused herein, a processor is implemented in hardware, firmware, or acombination of hardware and software.

Some aspects are described herein in connection with thresholds. As usedherein, satisfying a threshold may refer to a value being greater thanthe threshold, greater than or equal to the threshold, less than thethreshold, less than or equal to the threshold, equal to the threshold,not equal to the threshold, and/or the like.

It will be apparent that systems and/or methods, described herein, maybe implemented in different forms of hardware, firmware, or acombination of hardware and software. The actual specialized controlhardware or software code used to implement these systems and/or methodsis not limiting of the aspects. Thus, the operation and behavior of thesystems and/or methods were described herein without reference tospecific software code—it being understood that software and hardwarecan be designed to implement the systems and/or methods based, at leastin part, on the description herein.

Even though particular combinations of features are recited in theclaims and/or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are notintended to limit the disclosure of various aspects. In fact, many ofthese features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in theclaims and/or disclosed in the specification. Although each dependentclaim listed below may directly depend on only one claim, the disclosureof various aspects includes each dependent claim in combination withevery other claim in the claim set. A phrase referring to “at least oneof” a list of items refers to any combination of those items, includingsingle members. As an example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intendedto cover a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, and a-b-c, as well as any combinationwith multiples of the same element (e.g., a-a, a-a-a, a-a-b, a-a-c,a-b-b, a-c-c, b-b, b-b-b, b-b-c, c-c, and c-c-c or any other ordering ofa, b, and c).

No element, act, or instruction used herein should be construed ascritical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Also, as usedherein, the articles “a” and “an” are intended to include one or moreitems, and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Furthermore,as used herein, the terms “set” and “group” are intended to include oneor more items (e.g., related items, unrelated items, a combination ofrelated and unrelated items, and/or the like), and may be usedinterchangeably with “one or more.” Where only one item is intended, theterm “only one” or similar language is used. Also, as used herein, theterms “has,” “have,” “having,” and/or the like are intended to beopen-ended terms. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean“based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of wireless communication performed by acentral entity, comprising: determining, by the central entity, a set ofschedulable resources for a plurality of links associated with aplurality of nodes of a hierarchical topology multi-link network,wherein at least one node, of the plurality of nodes, is not a parentnode or a child node of the central entity; and providing, by thecentral entity, scheduling information to the plurality of nodes toschedule communication on the plurality of links based at least in parton determining the set of schedulable resources.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the central entity is configured to comply with one or moreinteraction rules for the set of schedulable resources.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the one or more interaction rules define the set ofschedulable resources as applicable for an entirety of a resourceallocation.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or moreinteraction rules define a particular type of channel as a schedulableresource, and the particular type of channel includes at least one of: asynchronization signal block, a type-0 physical downlink controlchannel, or a physical random access channel.
 5. The method of claim 2,wherein the one or more interaction rules define a particular type oflink.
 6. The method of claim 2, wherein providing the schedulinginformation comprises: causing a first node, of the plurality of nodes,to cancel an operation that conflicts with an operation of a secondnode, of the plurality of nodes, in accordance with the one or moreinteraction rules.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the central entityis configured to determine the set of schedulable resources based atleast in part on a resource utilization report received from another oneof the plurality of nodes.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein thescheduling information is a schedulable resource bitmap, wherein bits ofthe schedulable resource bitmap indicate whether corresponding resourceunits are schedulable by a particular node of the plurality of nodes. 9.The method of claim 1, wherein a message received by the central entityto identify the set of schedulable resources or a message conveying thescheduling information is an F1 Application Protocol (F1-AP) message.10. The method of claim 1, wherein a first subset of the set ofschedulable resources is associated with a first scheduling node, of theplurality of nodes, and a second subset of the set of schedulableresources is associated with a second scheduling node of the pluralityof nodes, and wherein the first scheduling node is directly connected tothe second scheduling node.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein thefirst subset and the second subset are non-overlapping in a time domain.12. The method of claim 10, wherein the first subset and the secondsubset are overlapping in time and associated with a coordinatedsemi-static slot format configuration.
 13. The method of claim 1,wherein the central entity is configured to schedule communication on atleast one of: a per slot basis, a per slot group basis, a per symbolbasis, or a per symbol group basis.
 14. The method of claim 1, whereinthe central entity is configured to determine the scheduling informationbased at least in part on at least one radio resource configuration ofthe plurality of nodes.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein the centralentity is configured to receive a resource utilization reportidentifying a utilization of one or more schedulable resources, andwherein the resource utilization report is determined based at least inpart on layer 2 (L2) scheduling.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein theset of scheduling resources are determined based at least in part on atleast one of: a time resource, a channel allocation, a link type, ascheduling pattern capability parameter, a resource availability, anallocation type, or an aggregation parameter.
 17. The method of claim 1,wherein the scheduling information is associated with an attributeparameter, and wherein the attribute parameter identifies at least oneof: an allocation granularity, a link association, a time segment, achannel type, or a traffic type.
 18. The method of claim 1, wherein thescheduling information is associated with one or more links of theplurality of links, and wherein the one or more links include at leastone of: the plurality of links, a subset of the plurality of links, aset of access links of the plurality of links, a set of backhaul linksof the plurality of links.
 19. The method of claim 1, wherein thescheduling information is associated with a channel type, and whereinthe channel type includes at least one of: a synchronization signalblock channel, a physical downlink control channel, a physical downlinkshared channel, or a physical uplink shared channel.
 20. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the scheduling information is configured for aparticular channel type based at least in part on explicit configurationinformation included in the scheduling information or implicitconfiguration information associated with a radio resource configurationmessage.
 21. A central entity for wireless communication, comprising: amemory; and one or more processors operatively coupled to the memory,the memory and the one or more processors configured to: determine, bythe central entity, a set of schedulable resources for a plurality oflinks associated with a plurality of nodes of a hierarchical topologymulti-link network, wherein at least one node, of the plurality ofnodes, is not a parent node or a child node of the central entity; andprovide, by the central entity, scheduling information to the pluralityof nodes to schedule communication on the plurality of links based atleast in part on determining the set of schedulable resources.
 22. Thecentral entity of claim 21, wherein the central entity is configured tocomply with one or more interaction rules for the set of schedulableresources.
 23. The central entity of claim 21, wherein the centralentity is configured to determine the set of schedulable resources basedat least in part on a resource utilization report received from anotherone of the plurality of nodes.
 24. The central entity of claim 21,wherein the scheduling information is a schedulable resource bitmap,wherein bits of the schedulable resource bitmap indicate whethercorresponding resource units are schedulable by a particular node of theplurality of nodes.
 25. The central entity of claim 21, wherein amessage received by the central entity to identify the set ofschedulable resources or a message conveying the scheduling informationis an F1 Application Protocol (F1-AP) message.
 26. The central entity ofclaim 21, wherein a first subset of the set of schedulable resources isassociated with a first scheduling node, of the plurality of nodes, anda second subset of the set of schedulable resources is associated with asecond scheduling node of the plurality of nodes, and wherein the firstscheduling node is directly connected to the second scheduling node. 27.The central entity of claim 21, wherein the central entity is configuredto schedule communication on at least one of: a per slot basis, a perslot group basis, a per symbol basis, or a per symbol group basis. 28.The central entity of claim 21, wherein the central entity is configuredto determine the scheduling information based at least in part on atleast one of radio resource configuration of the plurality of nodes. 29.The central entity of claim 21, wherein the central entity is configuredto receive a resource utilization report identifying a utilization ofone or more schedulable resources, and wherein the resource utilizationreport is determined based at least in part on layer 2 (L2) scheduling.30. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: means fordetermining a set of schedulable resources for a plurality of linksassociated with a plurality of nodes of a hierarchical topologymulti-link network, wherein at least one node, of the plurality ofnodes, is not a parent node or a child node of the apparatus; and meansfor providing scheduling information to the plurality of nodes toschedule communication on the plurality of links based at least in parton determining the set of schedulable resources.